Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14Encouragement for the Bride of Christ to be prepared for His return.

Monday, January 30, 2017

Beautiful, Part Seven

What kind of gift is fit for a King?

Jesus received frankincense, myrrh and gold from the magi. Then opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11 These valuable gifts were fit for a King, but they were also prophetically symbolic of His future suffering—frankincense and myrrh are both obtained by wounding the bark so that the fragrant resin “bleeds” from the tree. This is called “striping.” Jesus healed the sickly, doomed state of our lost souls by His stripes. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5

Paul was very familiar with this concept through his own suffering for Jesus’ sake. But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." Acts 9:15-16 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. Galatians 6:17 [Paul said] Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. 2 Corinthians 11:24-25

Jesus promised great reward in heaven for suffering for His sake. Paul exhorted us to rejoice in suffering for Christ and count it as a privilege. "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and falsely utter all kinds of evil against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matthew 5:10-11For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have. Philippians 1:29-30 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 2 Timothy 2:3-4But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:32-36 Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside the gate. So, let us go out to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. Hebrews 13:12-13

Peter reminded us that suffering is the norm for us when we follow our Lord’s example. However, our strength comes from Him, and He gave His life for us. If we love Him, then we will seek His glory and honor in all we do. The apostles and other disciples couldn’t grasp the plan of redemption or the full power of God until after Jesus' resurrection. Then, they proclaimed the Gospel boldly and fearlessly for the rest of their lives.

Resist the devil, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:9-10In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:6-9For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:20-23

What is true beauty and love?

Beauty in God's eyes goes way beyond skin deep. What's on the surface does not interest Him at all. He designed us and is not impressed in the least with what we've done with our appearance. He knows what's deep inside, even our very thoughts. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. Psalm 139:2

What He's looking for is obedience out of love, trust and respect. If He only wanted obedience, then He wouldn't have given us free will. He wants us. A beautiful heart to Him is one that is broken, repentant and completely reliant on Him for mercy and grace. If we truly understand who He is, what He is like, all that He has done, continually does and is going to do, we will not only want to give him our whole heart, but we will be utterly awestruck that He would care for us as He does (and He does).

And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Psalm 37:3 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! Psalm 40:4And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. Deuteronomy 30:6The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Psalm 33:16-19

This is Part Seven of a series. You may download the entire devotional in a "pretty" format here or in a basic, small file size format with highlighting here.

Welcome

Be Ready

Kids' scouting clubs have a motto to "always be prepared." Excellent advice, right? There's one thing that is CRUCIAL for ALL of us to be prepared for, and that's eternity. No one escapes their appointment with their Maker, whether it's upon death or upon the return of Jesus. (Heb. 4:12-13)

The Bible contains very helpful descriptions of what we should "put on" (i.e. clothe ourselves in) to be like Christ in Eph. 6:10-20 and 1 Thess. 5:5-8 (full armor of God), Col. 3:5-17 and Eph. 4:17-24 (the new image/self being renewed by knowledge of the Creator).

This page is dedicated to helping believers be ready. Unbelievers cannot please God, because that requires faith. (Heb. 11:6, Rom. 8:7, John 3:18, John 3:36) However, when we believe that Jesus is our Savior AND Lord, that means something more than being saved from hell. (Rom. 10:8-11) If we LOVE Him, that means something more than being saved from hell. If we LOVE Him, it's the beginning of following Him, obeying Him, serving Him. (Matt. 16:24-27, John 12:25-26, John 14:15-24, 2 Tim. 2:19-22) God has prepared wonderful things for those who love Him. (1 Cor. 2:9)

If you are a believer, but your life doesn't appear any different than the world around you, then this is your wake-up call to examine yourself in light of the truth in the Bible--to be sure that you really are clothed and ready for our Savior's return. We need to encourage each other in these last days to keep our lamps burning brightly for the world so they can see to escape the darkness and seek refuge in our God, salvation through the only Savior, while they can.

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." Matthew 25:1-13

The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. Romans 13:12-14

We believers (brothers and sisters in the Lord, the Body of Christ) need to encourage one another to walk "in a manner worthy of our calling." God has work for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10, John 15:8, Heb. 10:23-25, Titus 3:8)

Layout for Today

You are welcome to visit my other blog, which I began in 2014. I post a digital scrapbook page with a Bible verse for each day. There are also many devotionals I have written available in free pdf downloads on the page tab there, or if you are interested in reading without downloading, click on the label "message" on the sidebar. Thanks!

About Me

I live in Wisconsin and have been married thirty years. My husband and I have two adult children. In my walk with God, I have progressed from always believing in God in general, to believing Jesus is the Son of God as a child, to believing I need Jesus as my Savior as a wife and mom with young children, to finally realizing that Jesus is my all in all--more worthy than anyone and anything in the universe--as a wife and mom of grown children. Jesus told the church at Laodicea that He despises lukewarm believers and that was what I was for too many years. I attended church, volunteered, donated money and goods and held moral beliefs, but I didn't read my Bible daily or pray unceasingly. My prayers were mostly about protection of loved ones. I wanted benefits from God more than I wanted God for Himself. It was very sad, but I didn't really know it at the time. So my quest is to wake up other lukewarm believers who are like I was, while there's still time to avoid bitter regret (and no doubt tears) over their lack of love for our Savior. I believe we are in the end times, and we need to encourage each other to be strong and faithful. I enjoy studying the Bible in depth and spend much of my "free" time doing so. Thanks for visiting me here and reading my thoughts on the Scriptures and their application to the times we live in.